In Pokémon GO you can play together, but also partially against each other. One of the most interesting points are the gyms.
How do gyms work? The gyms in Pokémon GO are spread all over the area. You can take them over by leaving a Pokémon from your team on-site. Up to 6 players can jointly defend a gym with one Pokémon each – as long as they all belong to the same team.
If a gym is taken, it turns Red, Yellow, or Blue, depending on which team is currently defending it. To conquer it, you must first defeat all defending Pokémon.
The incentive for this is coins: By defending gyms, you can earn up to 50 coins per day. This maximum is reached after 8 hours that the Pokémon must occupy a gym.
And exactly this time period is what some trainers consider differently important.
The “unwritten law” of some trainers in Pokémon GO
In some communities, there is the unwritten law that you only kick defending Pokémon out of the gym when they have been there for 8 hours. This ensures that the trainers there receive their maximum daily coins. Conversely, one hopes that one’s own Pokémon are also left alone for 8 hours before they get kicked out.
In general, this is a code that is maintained by particularly active communities, or in places where there are few gyms and players know each other. A good example of this are villages that may only have three gyms, divide them among the teams, and then rotate.
On the other hand, there are also players who do not know this “law” at all. Casual players or trainers who have many gyms nearby may have never dealt with it.
It is a discussion that has come up before – and is currently a hot topic in the Pokémon GO subreddit.
What are trainers discussing? In the Pokémon GO subreddit, a user speaks up with a post about exactly this topic. The user describes that he has a gym nearby that he can occupy from home.
- He checks how long people are in there. Only after 8 hours does he kick them out.
- After 8 hours, he would also like to get out again. If a Pokémon is left sitting in the gym without bringing back coins, it is not helpful to anyone.
He also mentions that he does not expect everyone to play by these rules. But with the post, he fuels an interesting discussion in the comments.
There are various opinions represented.
- Some play exactly this way, at least in most cases. Then everyone gets their coins.
- Others do similarly, but primarily kick out players who do not participate or simply let them sit in the gym.
- Again, others describe that there are basically regulations between the teams about when which team takes which gym. For example, one during the day and another at night.
- And again others simply take over gyms. They don’t even check but just play.
By the way: Theoretically, there is also the option to leave a gym empty. There is also a kind of team for this. But: We want to know how you handle this topic! Participate in the survey!
We are excited to hear your responses! You can also look forward to the coming weeks: In Pokémon GO, many events are coming up, especially the GO Nature Zone 2025, which is waiting for us in November. And what happens next month, you can read here: All events in Pokémon GO in November 2025.
